Subway FAQ: Letter, Number, and Color Designation Systems

From nycsubway.org

Most people now refer to trains and even the lines the
trains run on by the letters and numbers displayed prominently on the
trains, on station signs, and on the official subway map. Years ago,
it was more common to refer to subway lines by division-- IRT, BMT,
IND-- and named route-- Lexington, Sea Beach, and so on. Use of
letter codes first became popular with the IND lines that opened
starting in 1932. Management began emphasizing the letters and
numbers in 1967, when the BMT and IND divisions merged and caused
establishment of several new routings. Many New Yorkers still use the
older names in addition to the letters and numbers.

Contents

BMT Number Code

The first New York subway route code was the now-forgotten BMT code of
about 1925. It was always in rather limited use, because most of the
trains the BMT had never could display it-- not the steel "standards"
of the subway, nor any of the elevated trains. It was not normally
seen on maps or station signs either. New cars placed in service from
1927 to 1955 did show the numbers. Officially, the extended IND
letter code replaced the numbers in 1960, but some trains displayed
the numbers as late as 1967, as noted below.

In the number code, trains on the Broadway mainline were classified
according to their Brooklyn route. Passengers also needed to notice
whether the train was express or local, and whether it crossed "via
bridge" or "via tunnel". Trains to Coney Island had to be
distinguished by the number or by a route sign. Passengers for Queens
needed to check the destination sign.

Trains on the elevated and other lines were designated simply by route
and terminal for the most part.

Code

Used

north end

main line

south end

notes

1

*1927-1964

Astoria

Broadway exp

Brighton Beach exp

*1927-1949

Astoria

Broadway loc

Brighton Beach loc

1949-1964

Astoria

Broadway loc

Brighton Beach loc

2

(*1928-1949)

Queensb Plaza

Broadway loc

4th Ave loc

(1949-1961)

Astoria

Broadway loc

4th Ave loc

(1961-1964)

Queens loc

Broadway loc

4th Ave loc

3

(*1928-1964)

57th St.

Broadway exp

West End

(*1928-1931)

Chambers St

Nassau St.

West End

peak via bridge

4

*1928-1964

57th St.

Broadway exp

Sea Beach

5

?

Bk. Bridge Term.

Brooklyn Bridge

5th Ave El - Culver

(*1931-1959)

Nassau St

Culver

peak via bridge

6

Brooklyn Bridge

5th Ave El - Bay Ridge

7

*1934-1965

Franklin (- Brighton loc)

8

Astoria

shuttle

9

Flushing

shuttle

10

*1956-1967

Myrtle Ave El

Nassau St

11

Brooklyn Bridge

Myrtle Ave El

12

Brooklyn Bridge

Lexington Ave El

13

Brooklyn Bridge

Fulton St El

Brooklyn Bridge

Fulton St El exp

peak only

*1940-1956

14th St

Fulton St El

14

*1955-1967

Broadway El loc

Nassau St

peak only; some from Canarsie

15

*1955-1967

Jamaica - Broadway El loc

Nassau St

*1955-1967

Jamaica - Broadway El exp

Nassau St

peak only

16

*1936-1956

14th St

Canarsie

Notes:*Continues a route previously unmarked. Dates in ()
parentheses indicate routes rarely marked, because normally assigned
cars did not display markers. Lines with no dates were never marked,
but are included to show the complete numbering scheme. Marker 17 was
reported someplace for 14th St--Fulton (Fulton east of East New York)
but I've been told the train actually ran with 13 markers, as listed
here.

IRT Number Code

The number code now in use for the former IRT lines was developed
later than the letter code and was first seen on cars put in service
in 1948. As a result the IRT elevated division never used the code
(except for a late remnant of the Third Ave Elevated).

IRT trains had been classified by signs showing the main line, express
or local, and destination, thus "7th Ave Express to 145th St". The
north and south terminals of express trains were never closely
correlated, but this did not matter as long as no route numbers were
used. Generally, Lexington expresses ran express in Brooklyn to
Atlantic or Utica Avenues, and 7th Ave expresses ran local in Brooklyn
to the ends of the branches, but the routing in Brooklyn was quite
flexible and some variant runs remain to this day.

When the number code came in, it designated main line and northern
terminal. The same problem of favoring one side therefore exists, and
riders in Brooklyn have seen changes in number codes that do not
indicate any change in service, such as from 2 to 3 for the 7th Ave
train from New Lots Ave to Manhattan.

The original code of 1948 is similar to what is now used, except for 8
and 9. A green 10 sign has been spotted on recent cars, but I don't
know yet what it would designate. Nothing equivalent to the double
letters for local was implemented, so some numbers designated both a
local and express service.

Code

Used

north end

main line

south end

notes

1

*1956-

Broadway

7th Ave loc

South Ferry

1989-

Broadway

7th Ave loc

South Ferry

Skipstop pair with 9 during peak

2

*1956-1959

Broadway

7th Ave exp

Brooklyn loc

*1959-1965

Dyre Ave

7th Ave exp

Brooklyn loc

1965-1983

White Plains Rd

7th Ave exp

New Lots Ave loc

1983-

White Plains Rd

7th Ave exp

Flatbush Ave loc

3

*1956-1959

Lenox Ave

7th Ave loc

1959-1965

Lenox Ave

7th Ave exp

Brooklyn loc

1965-1983

Lenox Ave

7th Ave exp

Flatbush Ave loc

1983-

Lenox Ave

7th Ave exp

New Lots Ave loc

4

*1962-1967

Jerome Ave

Lexington Ave exp

Brooklyn exp

1967-1983

Jerome Ave

Lexington Ave exp

Brooklyn (Flatbush Ave) exp

1983-

Jerome Ave

Lexington Ave exp

Brooklyn exp - Utica

Peak to New Lots

5

*1962-

White Plains Rd exp

Lexington Ave

Brooklyn exp

peak only

*1962-1965

White Plains Rd

Lexington Ave exp

(Brooklyn exp)

1965-1983

Dyre Ave

Lexington Ave exp

(Brooklyn exp)

1983-

Dyre Ave

Lexington Ave

Brooklyn exp - Utica

Peak lcl to Flatbush

6

*1955-

Pelham Bay loc

Lexington Ave loc

City Hall-Brooklyn Br

*1955-

Pelham Bay exp

Lexington Ave loc

City Hall-Brooklyn Br

peak dir exp in Bronx

7

*1948-

Flushing loc

Queensborough

*1948-

Flushing exp

Queensborough

peak dir exp in Queens

8

*1948-1949

Astoria

2nd Ave El

*1967-1973

Bronx 3d Ave El

9

Dyre Ave

Never seen on trains?

1989-5/27/2005

Broadway

7th Ave loc

peak only, skipstop pair with 1

Notes:*Contination of a route previously unmarked. The designation
"Brooklyn" here indicates trains went to various terminals.

IND/BMT Letter Code

The letter code used today for about two-thirds of the system dates
from the opening of the Independent Subway and must have been planned
from about 1930. The original code ran from A to H only.

The format of single letters for express, double for local, was used
from the beginning until 1985. There were always some anomalies,
notably the "express" E and F that were locals in Manhattan.

There is a bad flaw in this plan that has never been resolved. Most
train routes run from an outer terminal through Manhattan to another
outer terminal, but the letter designates a combination of the main
line and only one of the outer terminals. For example, D indicates
6th Ave main line and Concourse branch, and thus the Concourse line
has been consistently served by a D train since 1940. The IND plan
may be said to favor the northern terminals: A B always Washington
Heights, C D always Concourse, and E F always Queens. The southern
terminals, by contrast, change markers in accordance with where the
train's northern terminal is, something of little interest to most
riders. Thus the Smith Street (Culver) line changed from D to F in
1967, signifying no difference at all in the service from Brooklyn to
Manhattan. On the other hand, the letters used later for former BMT
routes followed BMT practice of favoring the southern terminal for
those lines. This has led to a close identification of one old IND
letter, B, with the BMT West End route, shifting its meaning so that
for most of the week it no longer designates Washington Heights as it
once did.

Following is the original IND code used up to 1967, showing all the
markers actually used. IND trains carried rollsigns for all possible
single and double letters and some even differentiated "6th Ave" and
"6th Ave--Houston".

A

AA

8th Ave - Washington Heights

BB

6th Ave - Washington Heights

C

CC

8th Ave - Concourse

D

6th Ave - Concourse

E

8th Ave - Queens

F

6th Ave - Queens

GG

Brooklyn-Queens Crosstown

HH

Fulton St

S

Special

The code was extended in 1960 to BMT routes using letters from J to T,
and until 1967, it co-existed with trains showing the BMT number code
and trains showing neither number nor letter. One deviant pair of
markers, QB and QT, was used instead of QQ to differentiate the two
different Brighton local services via bridge and tunnel. Several
other mixed-letter codes were used until 1973 to try to indicate
pairings of north and south terminals, such as QJ for a train running
to the Brighton Beach Q and Jamaica J branches, but this attempt at
solving a problem was not applied consistently or well. The QJ for
example ended up in use for a trainroute that never ran to the
Brighton Beach line.

The new trainroutes starting in 1967 included several that were hard
to characterize as express or local, being express in one place and
local in another. For this reason, and to simplify clutter, all
trains were designated with single letters beginning in 1985. The
only letter change this forced was AA, first to K and then to C.

Code

Used

north end

main line

south end

notes

A

1932-1933

Washington Hts exp

8th Ave exp

1933-1936

Washington Hts exp

8th Ave exp

Smith St

1936-1956

Washington Hts exp

8th Ave exp

Fulton St

1956-1959

Washington Hts exp

8th Ave exp

Fulton St (exp) (- Far Rockaway)

1959-1967

Washington Hts exp

8th Ave exp

Fulton St loc (- Far Rockaway)

1967-1973

Washington Hts exp

8th Ave exp

Fulton St - Far Rockaway

1973-

Washington Hts exp

8th Ave exp

Fulton St (exp) - Far Rockaway

1985-

Washington Hts exp

8th Ave exp

Fulton St (exp) - Rockaway Park

peak only to Far Rockaway, local night time

AA

1932-1985

Washington Hts loc

8th Ave loc

B

1967-1985

(Washington Hts loc)

6th Ave exp

West End

1985-1988

Washington Hts loc

6th Ave exp

34th St.

peak only during Manh Br constr

1985-1988

57th St.?

Broadway exp

West End

temporary during Manh Br constr

1988-1998

63d St

6th Ave exp

West End

1988-1998

(Washington Hts loc)

6th Ave exp

West End

peak only

1998-2001

(Concourse loc)

6th Ave exp

West End

2001-2004

(Concourse loc)

6th Ave exp

34th Street

Manhattan Bridge construction, split service with W on Broadway

2004-

(Concourse loc)

6th Ave exp

Brighton express - Brighton Beach

Switched Brooklyn routings with "D"-West End

BB

1940-1967

Washington Hts loc

6th Ave

peak only

C

1933-1940

Concourse (exp)

8th Ave exp

1985-1998

(Concourse loc)

8th Ave loc

(Fulton St loc)

1998-

Washington Hts loc

8th Ave loc

(Fulton St loc)

CC

1933-1976

Concourse loc

8th Ave loc

peak only

1976-1985

Concourse loc

8th Ave loc

Fulton St loc - Rockaway Park

peak only

1976-1985

Rockaway Park

D

1940-1954

Concourse (exp)

6th Ave

1954-1967

Concourse (exp)

6th Ave

Smith St - Culver

1967-1985

Concourse (exp)

6th Ave exp

Brighton Beach (exp)

1985-1988

Concourse (exp)

6th Ave exp

during Manh Br constr

1985-1988

Broadway exp

Brighton Beach (skipstop pair with Q)

during Manh Br constr

1988-2001

Concourse (exp)

6th Ave exp

Brighton Beach (loc)

2001-2004

Concourse (exp)

6th Ave exp

34th Street

Manhattan Bridge construction - split service with Q on Broadway

2004-

Concourse (exp)

6th Ave exp

West End

Swapped Brooklyn routings with B-Brighton

DD

No known use, would have been a Concourse-6th Ave local service

E

1936-1940

Queens exp

8th Ave loc

Smith St

1940-1949

Queens exp

8th Ave loc

1949-1956

Queens exp

8th Ave

(Fulton St exp - Far Rockaway)

1949-1956

Queens exp

8th Ave

(Fulton St exp - Rockaway Park)

1956-1959

Queens exp

8th Ave

(Fulton St loc - Far Rockaway)

1956-1959

Queens exp

8th Ave

(Fulton St loc - Rockaway Park)

1959-1973

Queens exp

8th Ave

(Fulton St exp - Far Rockaway)

1959-1973

Queens exp

8th Ave

(Fulton St exp - Rockaway Park)

1973-1976

Queens exp

8th Ave

(Fulton St loc - Far Rockaway)

1973-1976

Queens exp

8th Ave

(Fulton St loc - Rockaway Park)

1976-

Queens Blvd-179th St express

53rd St.-8th Ave local

Chambers/WTC

1988?

Queens Blvd-Archer Avenue express

53rd St.-8th Ave local

Chambers/WTC

EE

1967-1976

Queens loc

Broadway loc

Whitehall Street

F

1940-1954

Queens exp

6th Ave

Smith St

1954-1967

Queens exp

6th Ave

1967-2001

Queens Blvd-179th St Express

53rd St-6th Ave local

Coney Island via Culver

12/16/2001-

Queens Blvd-179th St Express

63rd Street-6th Ave local

Coney Island via Culver

FF

No known use; would have been a Queens-6th Ave local service

G

1985-

Queens loc

Crosstown

Smith St

GG

1933-1937

Queens loc

Crosstown

1937-1985

Queens loc

Crosstown

Smith St

H

1985-

Rockaway Park

Trains usually marked "S"

HH

1936-1946

Fulton St

Shuttle to Court St

1956-1976

Rockaway Park

officially HH from 1962

1956-1967

Far Rockaway

officially HH from 1962

I

Never used

J

1976-

Jamaica - Broadway El

Nassau St

1988-

Jamaica - Broadway El (exp)

Nassau St

peak only, skipstop pair with Z

JJ

*1967-1973

Jamaica - Broadway El

Nassau St

parttime

K

1973-1976

6th Ave loc

Broadway El

1985-1988

Washington Hts loc

8th Ave loc

KK

1968-1973

6th Ave loc

Broadway El

L

1985-

Canarsie

14th St

LL

*1967-1985

Canarsie

14th St

M

1964-1967

Nassau St

Culver or 4th Ave

peak only via bridge

*1967-1973

Myrtle Ave El (exp)

Nassau St

1973-1985

Myrtle Ave El (exp)

Nassau St

(Brighton Beach loc)

1985-2010

Myrtle Ave El (loc)

Nassau St

(West End)

1985-2010

Myrtle Ave El (loc)

Forest Hills

(6th Avenue)

MJ

*1967-1969

Myrtle Ave El

never marked on trains

N

*1965-1967

Broadway exp

4th Ave exp/Sea Beach lcl

1967-1976

Astoria

Broadway exp

4th Ave exp/Sea Beach lcl

1976-1987

Queens loc

Broadway exp

4th Ave exp/Sea Beach lcl

1987-

Astoria local

Broadway local

4th Ave exp/Sea Beach local

via tunnel

NX

1967-1968

Broadway exp

Sea Beach nonstop

to Brighton Beach sta

O

Never used

P

Never used

Q

*1964-1967

Broadway exp

Brighton Beach exp

1985-1988

Broadway exp

Brighton Beach (skipstop pair with D)

via bridge

1988-2001

63d St

6th Ave exp

Brighton Beach loc

peak (temporarily off Broadway)

2001-2004

57th Street

Broadway exp

Brighton exp to Brighton Beach

Used "Diamond Q" sign; temporary during Manhattan Bridge construction

2001-

57th Street

Broadway exp

Brighton loc to Stillwell

Uses "Round Q" sign

QB

*1960-1985

Broadway exp

Brighton Beach loc

via bridge

QJ

1967-1973

Jamaica - Broadway El (exp)

Nassau St

(Brighton Beach loc)

1973-1976

Jamaica - Broadway El (exp)

Nassau St

QT

*1960-1967

Broadway loc

Brighton Beach loc

via tunnel

R

1985-1987

Astoria

Broadway loc

4th Ave loc

1985-1987

Nassau St

4th Ave loc

peak only

1987-

Queens Blvd-Forest Hills local

Broadway local

4th Ave local

via tunnel

1987-1988

Nassau St

4th Ave loc

peak only; brown color

RJ

1967-1968

Jamaica - Broadway El

Nassau St

4th Ave loc

peak only

RR

*1961-1976

Queens loc

Broadway loc

4th Ave loc

1976-1985

Astoria

Broadway loc

4th Ave loc

1968-1985

Nassau St

4th Ave loc

peak only

S

1932-1967

"Special" runs

1985-

Franklin Ave

Franklin Shuttle

Prospect Park

shuttle

1985-

Times Square

42d St

Grand Central

shuttle

2001-2002

21st St-Queensbridge

6th Ave lcl

Broadway-Lafayette

Manhattan Bridge construction; shuttle (orange S)

2001-2004

West 4th Street

Grand Street

Manhattan Bridge construction; shuttle (grey/black S)

SS

*1967-1975

Culver

shuttle

*1967-1985

Franklin

shuttle

*1967-1985

42d St

shuttle

*1967-1977

Bowling Green

shuttle

T

*1965-1967

Broadway exp

West End exp

TT

*1960-1967

Broadway loc

West End loc

U

Never used

V

12/16/2001-June 2010

Queens Blvd-Forest Hills

53rd St-6th Ave Local

2nd Avenue

Merged with M

W

2001-2010

57th St.

Broadway exp via bridge

4th Ave exp/West End lcl

Manhattan Bridge construction-split B service

X

Never used

Y

Never used

Z

1988-

Jamaica - Broadway El exp

Nassau St

peak only, skipstop pair with J

JFK "Plane"

9/23/1978-4/15/1990

57th/6th (1978-1989); 21st St/Queensbridge (1989-1990)

6th Ave/8th Ave/Fulton IND

Howard Beach

Notes: *Continuation of a route previously unmarked, or marked using the
BMT number code.

Color Code

Up to 1967, the subway map and signage had used the three old system
names, IRT, BMT and IND, as the first-order division of the subway
system.

With the merging of the BMT and IND routes in 1967, the three old
system names were officially dropped, although they were still
commonly used on existing signs and ordinary speech. Instead of
divisions, only the route letters and numbers were used, and a
multi-colored "spaghetti" map was put into use that proved difficult
to comprehend because of the detail. A table of the route colors from
the New York City Transit Authority Graphics Standards Manual,
1970 edition, follows, including the Pantone color matching system
values.

1967 Color Scheme

Route

Color

Route

Color

Route

Color

1

PMS 165 Orange

AA

PMS 239 Magenta

KK

PMS 300 Blue

2

PMS 185 Red

B

PMS Black

LL

PMS Black

3

PMS 312 Blue

CC

PMS 354 Green

M

PMS 312 Blue

4

PMS 239 Magenta

D

PMS 165 Orange

N

PMS 130 Yellow

5

PMS Black

E

PMS 312 Blue

QB

PMS 185 Red

6

PMS 130 Yellow

EE

PMS 165 Orange

QJ

PMS Black

7

PMS 165 Orange

F

PMS 239 Magenta

RR

PMS 354 Green

8

PMS 312 Blue

GG

PMS 354 Green

SS

PMS 354 Green

A

PMS 300 Blue

HH

PMS 185 Red

In 1979, the current color code was introduced, grouping trains by
main line. A new map was introduced, and new signage was rapidly
installed using the colors as background for the number and letter
circles on signs. The color code greatly simplified the map and
groups the trains into logical families.

Unfortunately, the color code has yet to be used to full advantage.
Lines are not referred to by color, as "the red line", nor by names
corresponding to colors, as "the Seventh Ave line". Instead, signage
and official announcements continue to identify lines by fussy details
of train letters and numbers.

For example, an express station on the 7th Ave subway "red line"
downtown is marked at the entrance with numbers 1, 2, 3 and 9 each in
a red circle and would be referred to in announcements as the "1-2-3-9
line". This usage requires changes in maps and station signs for
service changes entirely within one "line". For example, when the
Brooklyn terminals of the 2 and 3 were swapped, if maps and station
signs had used "Seventh Ave Line", no change would have been required,
since all stations with "red line" service continued to have it.